Amine containing compounds have been employed heretofore to inhibit corrosion of metal surfaces. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,198,747 to Cook et al discloses an aqueous composition containing an organic amine and an organopolysiloxane as a corrosion inhibiting composition. Also, U.S. Pat. No. 3,085,908 to Morehouse et al discloses a process for treating metal surfaces to inhibit corrosion by applying to the metal surface an aminoalkyl silicon compound selected from aminoalkylakoxysilanes and aminoalkylpolysiloxanes and thereafter curing the aminoalkyl silicon compound on the surface to form an adherent coating thereon. Morehouse also discloses in U.S. Pat. No. 3,234,144 a process for retarding corrosion of metals which come in contact with water by adding to the water an organosilicon compound having an amino group linked to a silicon atom by a divalent hydrocarbon group having at least three carbon atoms. Other amine containing compounds which have been used as corrosion inhibitors are the polyalkylene polyamine derivatives disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,816,333 to King et al in which the polyalkylene polyamine derivatives are added to an aqueous corrosive medium.
The aminosilicon compounds described in the above references have an amino group linked to the silicon atom via a divalent hydrocarbon radical, whereas in the aminosilicon compounds employed in the present invention, the amino group is linked to the silicon atom through an Si-N linkage.
Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a method for inhibiting corrosion of metal surfaces. Another object of this invention is to provide a method for inhibiting corrosion of ferrous metals such as iron and steel. Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for inhibiting corrosion of metal surfaces by applying a corrosion resistant composition to the metal surfaces. Still another object of this invention is to provide a method for inhibiting corrosion of metals which does not require direct treatment of the surface to be protected. A further object of this invention is to provide a barrier between the surface to be protected and the corrosive elements normally present in the atmosphere.